103

Despite the fact that it's supposed to be 103 here today, I put on some wool socks to model them. The things we do for art.

I'm calling these my flag socks. The pattern, Broadripple, I think is absolutely perfect for what this sock yarn does.
Why thank you, yes they do stripe nearly identically, thank you for asking!

I also finally have a picture of my first attempt at "froggy feet"
I like it! I think I'm going to dye some really REALLY bright yellow for a certain MIL who just adores yellow.

Lastly, we spent last week in Michigan. It was for a sad occasion, the death of Jeff's grandfather, but we made a very nice trip out of it. On the way back we saw this jackass:

Recycled fun!

I've been frogging and dyeing sweaters here the past few weeks, in preparation for the farmer's market.

I discovered last year that people tend to quail at the prospect of a $40 skein of yarn (200 yards of my handspun!) so wanted to get something of a reputation for having nice, affordable yarn as well as the gorgeous, artistically spun yarn that every so often someone can't relinquish the desire for.

Here they are!

First was an awful green sweater. Huge, full of cables, and a nasty green color. I overdyed it to make Mom's Mother's Day present last year. I dyed up the rest green with the same green as I dyed Jenny's Fetching and Fetching hat.


Next is grey sweater that wasn't bad, but was just too bulky for this weather. It also had a bunch of intarsia on it that I made into the thrift store stiff crocheted felted bowl which has made it on to my ravelry waitlist.


And here's that bowl, prefelted. I haven't gotten around to felting it, I'm waiting for a load to go in the washer. Water restrictions suck.

Random Craftiness!

So the pain in my neck (literally) has cleared up, and I have been on to the crafting!

First up we have the armchair sewing caddy I made for my MIL for her birthday! It was fun to make, and I made another one to sell at the market. The second one is yellow as well, but I think I'll make another in a different color.


Next we have the blue vest! Yes, it is completed! woo hoo and go me! I'm aclling it completed, but I am still going to make a couple of modifications to it, namely I am working on the felted mitten that I'm going to cut in half and use as pockets. It will be incredibly cute, I think.


I also have added to my sock stash! I finally got around to visiting the LYS that's near the farmer's market. They had a LOT of really cool yarns, including this. It's Maizey, and it's made from corn silk and stretchy nylon. I couldn't resist the colorway! I'd also sold enough of the neck coolers that I was able to purchase it just from my market money! hooray for stash enabling.


I also got this. Who is it for? Aw heck, he never looks at this blog except when I'm actually working on it. I'm making them for my husband Jeff for Christmas. I'm going to work on them while he's tutoring or while I'm at market, and keep them hidden. They're a very nice masculine color, and I hope he will like them. I think I'm going to follow the Thuja pattern from Knitty, but do "my" toe and heel. (If you're reading this and know Jeff, please don't spoil the surprise!)

Farmer's Market

So the Farmer's Market is going great! The baking endeavor has both Ana and myself well in the black already, and my craft stuff has been selling well. In addition to the corn bags, Here are a couple of the things I've been offering.

The first is a coffee cup cozy. So far this has sold about half a dozen, to eco-minded individuals who want to carry their own cozy rather than add a piece of cardbord from a hand insulator to the landfill. They're really pretty and made from either cotton yarn or from wool. I think I like the cotton ones the best, but the wool ones really protect the hand from the heat.



Second is cool neck scarves. I had one of these which I purchased from an art fair a long time ago. It works very well for keeping the neck cool, and is filled with polymer beads which were designed for being able to grow plants in the desert. According to the website where they were purchased, 6oz holds 1 gallon of water! I do have more colors available, but they sold and I have to make more. Yay!


They should both be up on Ana's website soon (once she gets the pictures from my blog!) and will be available to sell online, or in person when I see people or at the farmer's market.

I really enjoy doing the farmer's market. Especially the baking, and not just because baking is fun. I HAVE to keep my kitchen clean during the week, otherwise I would be frantically cleaning it in the approximately 5 minutes I usually have between returning home from sparring and Eric and Ana coming over for our Friday night baking. That would not be good. So I (and Jeff) keep it clean all week. Now that "Must Keep Clean" attitude has rubbed off on other aspects of our house, which is doubly awesome.

Okay, rambling about cleaning done! I'm off to take Callay for a pre-op appointment. She has a large lipoma on her side that Wednesday she'll be getting removed, while she's under anasthesia anyway for a dental cleaning. So she'll have clean teeth, fresh breath and a scar. Poor baby. I'm taking a couple of days to work at home so she can be more comfortable and I can make sure she's not hurting herself.

Pile 'O Corn

Very productive day today, I got 8 of the corn bags done that are for the Farmer's Market. I think I"ll stop here, make a few other handmade things to sell and see how they do.

Yay Corn!

So over Christmas I had a horrible kink in my neck. Dad had a pillow that my aunt had made that was filled with corn. Nuke it, and you have instant moist heat. I loved it so much I made some, and my friend Ana will be selling the extras at the Farmer's market this Spring. Hopefully after this next weekend I'll have a whole pile of them to take a picture of!